Role of the teacher

Question 1

Gendered Classroom Behaviour/Power – Francis 2005.

Discuss

Answer 1

Teachers contribute to creating and also perpetuating gender stereotypes. Francis notes that teachers will often speak to boys and girls differently, punish them different (harsher and firmer with boys), have differing expectations about their behaviour in classroom. For girls who do not conform to the stereotypical appropriate gendered behaviour they will be penalised and punished more heavily than boys whose bad behaviour is almost expected and views by teachers as ‘natural high spirits’ or ‘boys will be boys’.